A Wiltshire firm has been fined £190,000 after a worker fell to his death whilst at work.
Maintenance contractor Philip Glasson plunged seven metres from a mechanical screening and separating plant at the Northacre Resource Recovery Centre in Westbury.
The 48-year-old, who sustained a traumatic brain injury, was rushed to Southmead Hospital in Bristol for treatment – but he died five days later.
Hills Waste Solutions, who own the site where the incident happened, pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Work at Height Regulations 2005.
The firm accepted that they failed to ensure that work at height was properly assessed and planned. The company also failed to consider and identify how the necessary work at height could be carried out safely to ensure that the risk of falls was controlled.
At Aldershot Magistrates’ Court on 17 August 17, the company was fined £190,000 and ordered to pay costs of £14,816, with a victim surcharge of £190.
Speaking after the hearing, Health and Safety Executive inspector Matt Tyler said: “Those in control of work have a duty to assess the risks and devise safe methods of working and to provide the necessary information, instruction and training to those undertaking the work.
“This incident could have been prevented had the work been adequately planned.”
